Code Warriors: NSA's Codebreakers and the Secret Intelligence War Against the Soviet Union

The dysfunctions and overreach of the total surveillance state were present at its birth, according to this engrossing history of the National Security Administration. Journalist Budiansky traces the development of American signals intelligence... [and] is lucid in describing the science and art of breaking complex ciphers, which helped drive advances in electronics and computing Budiansky leavens the history and technology with colorful profiles of crytographers and spies; the results is a lively account of how today s information controversies emerged.
Publishers Weekly
This is a balanced, authoritative portrait of an institution in which brilliant innovation in mathematics, computing and technology has coexisted with gross invasions of societal privacy.
Nature"

"The dysfunctions and overreach of the total surveillance state were present at its birth, according to this engrossing history of the National Security Administration. Journalist Budiansky traces the development of American signals intelligence... [and] is lucid in describing the science and art of breaking complex ciphers, which helped drive advances in electronics and computing... Budiansky leavens the history and technology with colorful profiles of crytographers and spies; the results is a lively account of how today's information controversies emerged."
--Publishers Weekly
"This is a balanced, authoritative portrait of an institution in which brilliant innovation in mathematics, computing and technology has coexisted with gross invasions of societal privacy."
--Nature

One of the Wall Street Journal's Top Ten Nonfiction Books of the year

A Washington Post Notable Book

"This is a balanced, authoritative portrait of an institution in which brilliant innovation in mathematics, computing and technology has coexisted with gross invasions of societal privacy."
--Nature

"Budiansky ably guides readers through the technical details of code breaking and the bureaucratic wrangling that so often bedevils intelligence work." --Foreign Affairs

"Admirable.... The NSA became a vast and powerful intelligence agency in the digital age. This book illuminates the early years." --Washington Post

"An exciting...account of the National Security Agency's efforts to discover the Soviet Union's secrets." --Wall Street Journal

"The dysfunctions and overreach of the total surveillance state were present at its birth, according to this engrossing history of the National Security Administration. Journalist Budiansky traces the development of American signals intelligence... [and] is lucid in describing the science and art of breaking complex ciphers, which helped drive advances in electronics and computing... Budiansky leavens the history and technology with colorful profiles of crytographers and spies; the results is a lively account of how today's information controversies emerged."
--Publishers Weekly

"A skillful history of America's World War II code-breaking and the rise of the National Security Agency." --Kirkus